Emissions of ionospheric Alfvén resonator and ionospheric conditions

• Published in: Journal of atmospheric and solar-terrestrial physics 2014-11, Vol.119, p.91-101
• Main Authors: Potapov, A.S., Polyushkina, T.N., Dovbnya, B.V., Tsegmed, B., Rakhmatulin, R.A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Critical frequency f0F2 of the ionosphere; Ionospheric Alfvén resonator; IRI-2012 model; Morphological characteristics
• ISSN: 1364-6826; 1879-1824
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jastp.2014.07.001

We analyze continuous magnetic observations of ionospheric Alfvén resonator (IAR) emissions at mid-latitude observatory Mondy. The measurements were by a LEMI-30 search-coil magnetometer covering the period from March 2010 to May 2011. The results are compared with data from simultaneous ionospheric sounding data and International Reference Ionosphere (IRI-2012) model parameters. The large amount of observational data allowed us to inspect the daily and seasonal variations in some morphological characteristics of the emissions as well as their relationship to ionospheric conditions. The main factor affecting the duration of the emission is how long the lower ionosphere stays in Earth's shadow. We demonstrate a close inverse correlation between the diurnal and seasonal IAR frequency variations, on the one hand, and changes in the ionospheric critical frequency, f0F2, on the other. Additionally, the expected emission frequency scale calculated with the IRI-2012 model is in good agreement with the values measured from the emission spectrograms. •Duration of IAR emission is closely related to length of ionosphere shadowing.•Close correlation between diurnal and seasonal changes in IAR frequency and in f0F2.•Attempt is made to model IAR frequency scale basing on IRI-2012.•High correlation between measured and calculated frequencies but biased mean values.